What does a will cost at a notary? Costs, table and comparison

Will at the notary: costs at a glance

The table shows what you pay in total for a will at the notary, not just the fee. "Total" includes the fee, the flat-rate charge for postage and telecommunications, 19% VAT, safekeeping at the local court and registration in the Central Register of Wills.

Assets minus debts	Fee for an individual will (1.0)	Individual will, total	Fee for a joint will or contract of inheritance (2.0)	Joint will, total
€25,000	€115	€255.15	€230	€404.50
€50,000	€165	€314.65	€330	€523.50
€100,000	€273	€443.17	€546	€780.54
€150,000	€354	€539.56	€708	€973.32
€200,000	€435	€635.95	€870	€1,166.10
€250,000	€535	€754.95	€1,070	€1,404.10
€300,000	€635	€873.95	€1,270	€1,642.10
€400,000	€785	€1,052.45	€1,570	€1,999.10
€500,000	€935	€1,230.95	€1,870	€2,356.10
€750,000	€1,335	€1,706.95	€2,670	€3,308.10
€1,000,000	€1,735	€2,182.95	€3,470	€4,260.10

How we calculated (as at November 2026): fee under Table B (Sec. 34 GNotKG with Annex 2), flat-rate charge for postage and telecommunications of 20% of the fee, no more than €20 (no. 32005 KV), 19% VAT on both (no. 32014 KV), safekeeping €82 (no. 12100 KV) and a register fee of €12.50 per person. For the joint will, the register fee is included twice. Not included are copying costs of €0.15 per page (no. 32001 KV) and costs for a home visit. Whether the safekeeping fee passed on by the notary remains free of VAT depends on how it is billed.

For a contract of inheritance, the same fee applies as for a joint will. The €82 for official safekeeping does not apply if you exclude it; the document then stays with the notary (Sec. 34 (2) and (3) BeurkG). The schedule of costs provides for no fee for this safekeeping; the register fee is still charged (Sec. 34a (1) BeurkG, Sec. 1 ZTR-GebS).

How does the notary calculate the costs of a will?

Three factors determine the bill: the transaction value, the fee rate and the expenses.

Transaction value: assets minus debts, but only up to half

If you dispose of your entire estate, the transaction value is the value of your assets. Your debts are deducted, but at most up to half of the value of the assets (Sec. 102 (1) sentences 1 and 2 GNotKG). Your assets include everything you own: real estate, accounts, securities, vehicles, shareholdings.

Example: You own a house worth €300,000, with a loan of €200,000 still outstanding on it. Arithmetically, €100,000 would remain. But the notary may only deduct €150,000, half of €300,000. The transaction value is therefore €150,000, and the fee €354 instead of €273. With the flat-rate charge and VAT, you pay €445.06, with safekeeping and register €539.56.

Legacies and testamentary directions do not increase the value if you dispose of your entire estate. They are only added if you dispose of only a fraction (Sec. 102 (1) sentence 3 GNotKG). If your will only concerns individual items, only their value counts (Sec. 102 (3) GNotKG).

The relevant date is the day of notarisation

What matters is the value when the fee becomes due (Sec. 96 GNotKG), i.e. at the notarisation appointment. If your assets increase later, this does not change the bill. You provide the information on your assets yourself, completely and truthfully; if you provide none, the notary determines the value at their reasonable discretion (Sec. 95 GNotKG). You do not need an expert valuation, and no evidence is taken on the market value (Sec. 46 (4) GNotKG).

Fee rate: 1.0 or 2.0

• Individual will: 1.0 fee, at least €60 (no. 21200 KV GNotKG). It makes no difference whether you declare your wishes to the notary orally or hand them a document (Sec. 2232 BGB).
• Joint will and contract of inheritance: 2.0 fee, at least €120 (no. 21100 KV GNotKG with preliminary remark 2.1.1).
• The minimum fee only applies to small estates up to around €7,000; above that, the fee under the table is higher.

Expenses and VAT

Instead of the actual postage and telephone costs, the notary may charge a flat rate of 20% of their fees, no more than €20 (no. 32005 KV). On top of that come copying costs (no. 32001 KV) and 19% VAT (no. 32014 KV). The notary passes on court fees and the fee for the register of wills as outlays (no. 32015 KV); no VAT is charged on the register fee.

No negotiating, but you can have it checked

There are no discounts: agreements on the amount of notary costs are invalid (Sec. 125 GNotKG). Comparing prices between notaries is therefore not worthwhile. The notary must send you a statement of costs in text form, with the numbers of the schedule of costs and the transaction value (Sec. 19 GNotKG). If you think it is wrong, you can apply for a decision to the regional court (Landgericht) at the notary's official seat (Sec. 127 GNotKG).

Additional costs: safekeeping, register of wills, home visit

Item	Amount	Basis
Official safekeeping at the local court	€82 one-off, covering safekeeping, notification to the register and later return	no. 12100 KV GNotKG
Central Register of Wills, billed via the notary	€12.50 per person, without VAT	Sec. 1 (2) sentence 1 Register of Wills Fee Statute (Testamentsregister-Gebührensatzung, ZTR-GebS), Sec. 78g BNotO
Central Register of Wills, billed directly	€15.50 per person	Sec. 1 (2) sentence 2 ZTR-GebS, usual for safekeeping by the court
Home visit by the notary for a will	€50 additional fee, once per client, plus VAT	no. 26003 KV GNotKG
Opening after death (paid by the heirs)	€109	no. 12101 KV, Sec. 24 no. 1 GNotKG

Safekeeping: The notary is to bring a will into special official safekeeping (besondere amtliche Verwahrung) at the local court (Amtsgericht) without delay (Sec. 34 (1) BeurkG). The €82 is therefore charged for practically every notarial will.

Register of wills: On death, the registry office (Standesamt) reports the death to the register, and the register notifies the probate court (Nachlassgericht). A separate registration is created for each testator; for a joint will or contract of inheritance of a married couple, the fee is therefore charged twice. Corrections, additions and the notification on death are covered by it (Federal Chamber of Notaries, Bundesnotarkammer, testamentsregister.de).

Home visit: If the notary comes to you at your request, for example to hospital, the additional fee of €50 applies for a will instead of the fee per half hour (no. 26002, 26003 KV). There is no daily or absence allowance on top of this (no. 32008 KV); travel costs may be added if the notary leaves their municipality for the visit (no. 32006, 32007 KV, preliminary remark 3.2 (2) KV).

Joint will, Berlin will and contract of inheritance

Only spouses can make a joint will (Sec. 2265 BGB); this includes the Berlin will (Berliner Testament). At the notary, it costs the 2.0 fee. The transaction value is the assets of both spouses together, each minus their own debts up to half. A contract of inheritance can only be concluded before a notary, and both parties must be present at the same time (Sec. 2276 (1) BGB); it also costs 2.0.

What a Berlin will costs at the notary: If a married couple has assets of €400,000 together and no debts, the fee is €1,570. With the flat-rate charge and VAT, that is €1,892.10, with safekeeping and the register fee twice €1,999.10.

Two individual wills are often cheaper. Because the fee table rises more slowly than the value, two individual wills of €200,000 each cost €1,082.90 together, with safekeeping and register twice €1,271.90. That is around €730 less. The difference is not just a question of price, however: only in a joint will and in a contract of inheritance can dispositions be mutually dependent or contractual and therefore binding (Sec. 2270, 2278 BGB); each person can change an individual will on their own at any time. Which form suits your family is explained in the guide Berlin will.

It also works without a notary: A joint will is valid if one spouse writes it by hand and both sign it (Sec. 2267 BGB). Then there are no notary costs.

What does a will cost without a notary?

A handwritten will costs nothing. You must write and sign it entirely yourself (Sec. 2247 (1) BGB); you should state the place and date. How this works and which mistakes make it invalid is shown in the guide Writing a will.

Costs only arise if you want to deposit it securely:

• At home: €0. Risk: the will is not found, gets lost or is made to disappear.
• At the local court: At your request, the court takes it into special official safekeeping (Sec. 2248 BGB). Cost: €82 (no. 12100 KV). The court reports the safekeeping to the Central Register of Wills (Sec. 347 (1) FamFG); the register usually bills you €15.50 directly for this. So €97.50 in total.
• You can ask for the deposited will back at any time; it nevertheless remains valid (Sec. 2256 (2) and (3) BGB).

Is it worth having a handwritten will certified?

Usually not. With a certification (Beglaubigung), the notary only confirms that the signature is yours; they only check the content to see whether they must refuse the certification (Sec. 40 (2) BeurkG). The fee is 0.2, at least €20 and at most €70 (no. 25100 KV), plus the flat-rate charge and VAT, so around €29 to €100. This does not turn the handwritten will into a will made "by declaration recorded by a notary" (Sec. 2231 no. 1 BGB). Your heirs will therefore usually still need a certificate of inheritance for the land register. Official safekeeping for €97.50 or a notarial will straight away makes more sense.

Is a notary worth it? Costs today and on death

You pay the notary costs today. A handwritten will often shifts costs to your heirs: if the estate includes real estate, the land registry (Grundbuchamt) requires a certificate of inheritance as proof of succession. If the succession is based on a will in a public document, the notarial will and the probate court's record of opening (Eröffnungsprotokoll) are enough instead (Sec. 35 (1) GBO). The land registry can still require a certificate of inheritance if it does not consider the succession proven by these.

At the probate court, the certificate of inheritance costs two 1.0 fees: one for the proceedings (no. 12210 KV) and one for the affidavit (eidesstattliche Versicherung). The yardstick is the estate at the time of death minus the deceased's debts (Sec. 40 (1) GNotKG). More on this in the guide Applying for a certificate of inheritance.

Example: You are single, you own a flat worth €250,000 and you have no debts. Your niece is to inherit everything. We assume that the value stays the same until your death.

When	Item	Handwritten, kept at the local court	Notarial
Today (you pay)	Making the will	€0	€660.45 (€535 fee, €20 flat-rate charge, VAT)
Today (you pay)	Safekeeping and register	€97.50	€94.50
On death (paid by the heirs)	Opening	€109	€109
On death (paid by the heirs)	Certificate of inheritance for the land register	€1,070	usually not needed
Total		€1,276.50	€863.95

So the notary mainly pays off when real estate is involved. There are also advantages that cannot be expressed in euros: the notary advises you and words the will, and it is reliably found. Whether banks accept a notarial will with the record of opening as proof is not governed by Sec. 35 GBO; it depends on the individual case.

A notarial will usually makes sense for: real estate, businesses or shareholdings, blended families, a contract of inheritance between partners who are not married, and if you are a minor or cannot read written text, because then a handwritten will is ruled out (Sec. 2247 (4) BGB). A handwritten will is often enough for: moderate cash assets without real estate and clear family circumstances. Who inherits without a will is shown in the guide Intestate succession.

Changing or revoking a will: what does it cost?

• New notarial will: the full fee again, calculated on your assets at that time (no. 21200 or 21100 KV, Sec. 96 GNotKG), plus safekeeping again.
• Only a revocation at the notary: 0.5 fee, at least €30 (no. 21201 no. 1 KV). For assets of €100,000, that is €136.50 plus the flat-rate charge and VAT. The transaction value is determined under Sec. 102 (5) GNotKG.
• Withdrawal from safekeeping: If you take a notarial will back out of official safekeeping, it is deemed revoked (Sec. 2256 (1) BGB). The return is covered by the €82 for safekeeping (no. 12100 KV).
• Handwritten will: You can rewrite it at any time, free of charge. If the new will is to go into official safekeeping again, another €82 is charged.

For a joint will and a contract of inheritance, it also matters whether you are bound by mutually dependent or contractual dispositions. You should clarify this with a lawyer before making a change.

Notary or lawyer: what does advice on a will cost?

At the notary, advice is included in the fee if they notarise the will. The fee covers the preparation and carrying out of the notarisation (preliminary remark 2.1 (1) KV), and no separate advice fee arises (no. 24200 KV, note). Costs without notarisation for an individual will:

• If it remains a consultation, an advice fee of 0.3 to 0.5 is charged (no. 24201 KV).
• If you only have a draft prepared, it is 0.3 to 1.0, at least €60 (no. 24101 KV).
• If you break off the proceedings after the notary has sent a draft, the fee is 0.3 to 1.0, at least €60 (no. 21303 KV); before that it is €20 (no. 21300 KV), or the advice fee if the notary has already advised you (no. 21301 KV).

For a joint will and a contract of inheritance, it is 0.3 to 1.0 for advice (no. 24200 KV), and 0.5 to 2.0, at least €120, for a draft or for breaking off after the draft (no. 24100, 21302 KV).

At a lawyer, the fee depends on the agreement. Without an agreement, a lawyer receives from consumers at most €250 for advice and at most €190 for an initial consultation, in each case plus expenses and VAT (Sec. 34 (1), Sec. 1 (1) RVG, no. 7008 VV RVG). At Recht 24/7, written advice costs a fixed price of €169 including VAT. A lawyer can plan your will with you and check your draft. They cannot notarise it; only a notary may do that. For a notarial will, the notary costs are therefore always added.

Who pays the costs of the will?

• The notary costs are paid by the person who gives the instruction, i.e. you as the testator (Sec. 29 no. 1 GNotKG). The bill comes after the notarisation, not only on death.
• For a joint will, both spouses are jointly and severally liable (Sec. 32 (1) GNotKG): the notary can demand the full amount from either of them.
• The register fee is owed by the testator (Sec. 78g (2) BNotO).
• The opening after death is paid by the heirs (Sec. 24 no. 1 GNotKG), as is the certificate of inheritance if they apply for it.

How to keep the costs within limits

• Bring a list of your assets: real estate with market value, accounts, securities accounts, shareholdings and all debts. Without the debts on the list, the notary calculates with too high a value.
• Individual wills or a joint will: Compare the fees, but decide according to the binding effect you want.
• Clarify beforehand whether you need a notary: Without real estate and in clear circumstances, a handwritten will in official safekeeping is often enough.
• Think about the compulsory share: A will that overlooks compulsory shares often costs your heirs more later than any notary fee. More on this in the guide Compulsory share. If several people inherit a property together, a community of heirs arises; this too can be prepared for in the will.

You will find more topics on inheritance in the overview Inheritance law.